IOR/R/15/2/150

The early papers in the file relate to complaints by the Iranian Government over the treatment of Persian citizens in Bahrain; but the file mostly concerns the enactment of the Bahrain nationality and property laws, and the preparation of the Bahrain (Amendment) Order in Council (1937).

The correspondence is mostly between the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and the India Office. There is also some correspondence from the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave), and the Residency Agent, Sharjah. Enclosures include correspondence from the Foreign Office; the Government of India; the British Legation, Jedda [Jeddah]; and HM Minister, Tehran.

The papers cover: the response of British officials and the Government of Bahrain to complaints by the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs of harsh and discriminatory treatment of Persian subjects in Bahrain, May-August 1933; the registration by the Political Agency, Bahrain of British subjects and foreigners in Bahrain, September 1933 - May 1934; the registration and treatment of Persians in Bahrain, May-July 1934; discussion of the British Government's right to jurisdiction over all foreigners in Bahrain, November 1934; proposals for, and the drafting and publication of the Bahrain nationality and property laws, February 1935 - May 1937; the preparation and publication of the Bahrein (Amendment) Order in Council, 1937, and Kings Regulation regarding the ownership of immovable property in Bahrain by foreigners, 1937; and enquiries into the legal status of the ownership by Bahrainis of real property in the Hejaz and Iraq, May-July 1937. The dates given refer to main items of correspondence, and may include enclosures of an earlier date.

The Arabic language content of the file consists of nine folios: Government of Bahrain notices in Arabic and English (folios 11-12); and drafts of official letters prepared by the Residency Agent, Sharjah (folios 218-224). The French language content of the file consists of one folio of press cuttings (folio 159).

The covering dates give the dates of the main items of correspondence; the earliest document in the file is an enclosure dated 6 May 1933 (folio 7), and the last dated addition to the file is a note showing that the last item of correspondence was received at Bahrain on 23 July 1937 (folio 304).